Your morning briefing
Good morning readers and welcome to our round-up of what’s making news and the must-reads today.
Good morning, here are the five stories you need to face the day, and it will only take you two minutes.
Top stories
Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was taken into custody early today on charges that he laundered more than $US18 million in funds from his work for a pro-Russia party in Ukraine through offshore accounts. In a separate plea deal announced in unsealed court documents this morning, George Papadopoulos, a foreign-policy adviser to the Trump campaign, admitted to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about his contacts with a professor connected to Russian government officials.
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One in two Australians believes that the Paris accord on climate change should be dumped if breaking the agreement delivered cheaper domestic power prices, exposing a deep electoral division over Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s commitment to honouring the target. The apparent weakening of support for the international agreement as a policy priority over affordable power also comes as Queensland heads to a November 25 election in which energy is likely to become a key cost-of-living issue.
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Netflix has announced it will cancel hit drama House of cards amid revelations the show’s star, Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey, tried to seduce a 14-year-old in the mid-1980s. Variety reports that Netflix will end the political drama in 2018 after its sixth season. Spacey’s statement of regret after being accused of trying to seduce former child actor Anthony Rapp has kicked up a backlash. “I’m sorry, Mr. Spacey, but your application to join the gay community at this time has been denied,” wrote “Savage Love” writer Dan Savage on Twitter.
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In business
Scott Morrison will resist a renewed push for a royal commission into the banking sector after the High Court decision to disqualify former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce shaved down the government’s wafer-thin parliamentary majority. In the wake of last week’s ousting of Mr Joyce, a Nationals MP, concern is building among investors that the government may be forced to hold a royal commission into the sector, with Commonwealth Bank regarded as the most vulnerable. Shares in CBA have fallen 1.1 per cent since Friday, and rivals ANZ, National Australia Bank and Westpac also lost ground despite a rising market.
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In sport
There’s more ammo for the pink ball sceptics, writes Peter Lalor. While Australia’s Test players are warming to the idea of day-night Tests there remains an air of scepticism about the behaviour of the pink ball which the first round of Sheffield Shield did little to dispel. Getting a bead on the ball and its peculiarities is difficult, however, with bowlers unimpressed as a rule and batsmen equally, if not more, suspicious of it.
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Key analysis
Nick Cater takes aim at Julia Gillard’s higher education revolution that was more like a whimper, trading excellence for degree factories that cleave to dogma of inclusion.
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Comment of the day
“Mueller is very disciplined. This is only the start. The plea bargaining will be very brisk right now.”
Patricia on the Manafort bombshell.
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Tech Tuesday
Telstra TV 2.0 is better than the original but there’s room for more fun, writes Chris Griffith.
Police seek help to crack missing mum mystery
In its first public response since the launch of a new investigative podcast, NSW Police says a strike force investigation into the suspected murder of Bronwyn Winfield is open and ongoing.
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